Governed lowering power winch



H C N I W. R m P G ON M .E m .L D E N R E v o G March 27, 1951 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 12, 1947 \NVENTOR GEORGE EMOORE BY \b r 4 Lg.

ATTORNEYS March 27,, 1951 G. E. MOORE GOVERNED LOWERING POWER WINCH 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12, 1947 March 27, 1951 e. E. MOORE GOVERNEDLOWE-RING POWER WINCH 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 12, 1947 INVENTORGEORGE E. MOORE %WL8J- ATTORNEYS March 27, 1951 G. E. MOORE GOVERNEDLOWERING POWER wmca 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 12, 1947 R O T N E V mGEORGE E. MOORE ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 27, 1951 GOVERNED LOVVERINGPOWER WINCH George E. Moore, Muskegon Heights, Mich, as-

sign-or to Manning, Maxwell & Moore, Inc., Muskegon Heights, Mich, acorporation of New .i'ersey Application February 12, 1947, Serial No.727,978

Claims.

.This invention relates to improvements in power winches adapted topower hoisting and gravity lowering.

An important object of this invention is to provide a drum type of winchhaving a normally on spring loaded brake, a power driving source, and asingle control device movable to one position to release the brake andrender the power drive active for hoisting, and in the other directionto release the brake to free the drum for gravity lowering.

Another object of the invention is to provide in such a combination anormally on spring loaded brake in combination with a single manualcontrol which normally assumes a neutral position to effect full brakingforce.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a hoist of this typea centrifugal governor for limiting the speed of rotation of the drum ina lowering direction.

Other and more detailed objects of the invention will be apparent fromthe following dis- .closure of the embodiment selected for the purposeof illustrating the inventive features herein disclosed.

This invention resides substantially in the combination, construction,arrangement and relative location of parts, all as will be described indetail below.

In the accompanying drawings,

' Figure l is a lefthand side elevational view of the winch of thisinvention;

Figure 2 is a righthand side elevational View of this winch;

Figure 3 is a top plan view thereof; and

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional, vertical, central view taken on the axisof the drum.

As disclosed, the winch includes a base plate in the form of a rolledsteel channel member I lying flat with the web uppermost and the flangesprojecting downward. Welded to the side flanges at 2e front corners arethe short angle pieces 2 and at the other corners are the angle pieces2which extend above the plane of the web, as is clear in Figures 1 and 2.These short angles provide'feet and are bored to receive bolts forfastening the winch to a foundation when this is desirable. The topextensions of the angle feet .2 have mounted therein a transverse shaft3 on which is pivotally mounted a top 5 welded to the under surface of amotor bedplate 4. The motor M is bolted onto the plate .4, which is alsoprovided with threaded studs and nuts by means of which the angularposition of theplate 4 can be adjusted and maintained by reason of theengagement of the stud 5 with the web of channel I.

Welded to the sides of the base I towards the front or drum end, are apair of side plates 1 and l, the former being on the left side and thelatter on the right side (see Fig. 4),. The upright side plate 5 isshaped to receive a bearing cage 32 which is held on the side plate bymeans of a cap 8, which engages the bearing cage 32 on the top, and sideplate I is shaped to accommodate a fixed planetary gear housing 29. Thecap 8 is formed as an upper continuation of the side plate 7 and isclamped in place to mount the bearing cage 32 by means of yokes 9 hingedto the plate a at 8 to clamp the ends of cap 8 on plate I by means ofset screws I fl and lock nuts. The planetary gear housing is providedwith a peripheral groove into which the complementarily shaped upperedge of the side plate 1 fits. The housing has integral lugs 29 (seeFigs. 1 and 2), by means of which the housing is attached. to the sideplate i with bolts 30.

The speed reducing drive consists of a V-belt power transmission fromthe motor M to the drum shaft, and a planetary gear assembly concentricwith that shaft for driving the drum.

A simplifying feature of this apparatus is that the power source, whichmay be an electric motor either of the single or polyphase type, or agasoline engine which runs continuously in one direction only for alloperations of the winch. Therefore, only a simple starting switch isrequired if electrically driven, or a simple starter if gasoline driven.The prime mover is bolted to the plate l, which being hingedly mounted,can be adjusted to the desired bolted position to establish the properbelt tension, and can be locked in that position.

Single or multiple grooved V-belt pulleys, according to the powerrequirements, can be used with standard V-belts. Thus the small multiplegrooved V-belt pulley II is attached to the extending end of the shaftof motor M, and is connected through V-belts I I to the large drivenmultiple grooved V-belt pulley 12 which runs loose on the drum shaft I3on a pair of ball bearings M and I4 (see Fig. 4) The ball bearing I4takes the radial load only and the ball-bearing it takes a combinedradial and thrust load. The outer face of the large V-belt pulley I2 ismachined smooth to form the driving half of a plate clutch, of which thedriven half is formed by the outer dished plate I5 having a machinedannular matching face lined with a ring of suitable friction material lBThe plate I5 is'splined to the drum shaft is for axial sliding movementthereon and on the hub of this plate there is fitted a ball thrust blockH. A seal i8 between the V-belt pulley i2 and the outer dished plateprevents lubricant from leaking out.

The rope or cable drum i9 is preferably of cast iron in the of acylinder for coiling the load rope and is provided, as is usual, withsome suitable means 253 for anchoring the end of the load rope. Thisdrum is freely rotatable on the drum shaft 13 and rotates on ballbearings 2! and El. One end of the rope drum is provided with anintegral brake drum 22, and the other end has a flange 23 provided withprojecting pins 25 upon which are mounted two planet gears 25 journaledon intermediate ball bearings 26. These planet gears are driven from asun pinion 2'5 integral with the drum shaft i3 and mesh with an internalgear 28 formed on the stationary planetary gear housing 29.

The thrust from the ball thrust block 11 is transmitted through theouter dished plate l5 and the large V -belt pulley i2 through the thrusthearing i i to the collars 3G and the inner races of ball bearings Eliand 2! to the enlarged section of the drum shaft and thence through thesun pinion 2? to the ball thrust bearing 33 on the stationary planetarygear housing 29. The collars 36 act merely as seals to prevent thegrease in the ball bearings from leaking out and having runningclearance with the hubs of the V-belt pulley i2 and the rope drum is andwith the bore of the ball bearing cage 32.

The planetary gear housing 2:; has a central web (see Fig. l) with a rimextending to both y sides thereof. It is on the inner face of thelefthand rim that the internal gear teeth are formed. The cylindricalchamber containing the planetary gear train adjacent the flange 23 ofthe rope drum is fitted with an annular plate 343 having a tight fitwith the rim and a clearance at its inside bore where it fits overanannular projection on the drum flange, for the purpose of retaining thegrease with which the gears are lubricated against leakage. Thecentrifugal force result ing from operation tends to crowd the grease tothe periphery of this chamber where the joint is tight. The oppositelyextending rim is machined on its face 29* (see Fig. 4) to form theinternal brake drum of a centrifugal governor consisting of a rotatinglever 3% (best seen in Fig. 2) having a central boss keyed to the end ofthe drum shaft i3 and arms projecting right and left on which brakeblocks 38 are pivoted on pins 3%. The brake blocks 38 are substantiallyhemispherical in form and/the outlines thereof are best seen in Figure2. These brake blocks have friction covers 56 on the outer circularfaces and twin circular springs ii in the recesses 38 to hold thesebrake blocks away from the internal drum surface 28 against centrifugalforce at a predetermined minimum speed while allowing them to move intocontact therewith when that speed minimum is exceeded, thus limiting themaximum rotative speed of the load drum in a lowering direction.

A brake band 42 with a suite. le friction lining embraces the peripheryof the brake drum 22 and has one end anchored on a bearing block securedto the base I (see Fig. l) by means of a single bolt Q5 which engagesthrough a bar iil welded to the brake band. This facilitates easyremoval of the brake band at this end. The other end of the brake bandhas attached there" to an internally threaded fitting 26 which engages athreaded eye bolt 67, which is pivotally connected to a lever is mountedon the transverse shaft 39. This shaft is carried in the bushing 59 onthe side plate 7 (see Fig. 4) and in the hub of spring adjuster 55 (seeFigs. 1, 2 and 3) on the upright side plate l. The side plates l and Iare bored to receive the bushing 50 and the hub of the adjuster 5|.

The operating lever system cooperates in a novel manner with the clutch,the brake and the planetary gear drive to effect full control of thewinch by manipulation thereof from a normal neutral or central positionto either side thereof.

The transverse shaft 49 with the brake band lever 58 actuates the loadholding brake on the rope drum keeping the brak normally on by means ofa torsion spring 52 surrounding the transverse shaft i6 with one end ofthe coil bearing against the spring adjuster 55. The lever 48 and theadjuster 5! are provided with helical projections on their surface tomatch the ends of thespring 52. The loading of the torsion spring can beadjusted by means of the spring adjuster 56. The rotation of theadjuster 5| under the action of the spring in a counterclockwisedirection being limited by a bolt 53 pivoted on El and bearing by meansof its nut on the angle bracket 5 welded on the outside of the baseplate (see Fig. 2). The initial loading of the torsion spring 5?. can beadjusted by inserting a rod in the bored end of the arm 5! and suitablyadjusting the nut on the link 53.

The brake band lever 48 is keyed to the trans verse shaft is. whichafter passing through the spring adjuster 5| which forms its bearing onthe upright side plate 1, projects beyond it and has a downwardlyprojecting lever 55 keyed to it. The lever 55 is provided at its lowerend with a pin 55 upon which is fulcrumed the vertical hand lever 5i(see Fig. 2). Higher up on the vertical hand lever is the projecting pin58 upon which is fulcrumed one end of a connecting link 5i} whose otherend is slotted and engages the turned end of a bell crank lever Ellwhich is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 60 mounted in a block 5|bolted to the side plate 7'. The other end of the bell crank lever (seeFig. 3) is pressed by means of a spring 82 through which passes a bolt62 bearing on the side plate i to normally hold clutch plate :5 out ofcontact with drive sheave l2. This same arm of the bell crank has a holethrough which the reduced end of the clutch operating member 53 passes.This reduced end is provided with a nut, as shown. The clutch operatingmember 63 actuates the friction clutch at the opposite side of thewinch.

This member 63 consists of a square rod which rests on the upper face ofthe horizontal web of the channel base member 5 and on a projectingangle 64 (see Fig. 4) welded to the lefthand flange of the base channel.The member 63 passes through openings in the side plates i and i and atthe left hand end is provided with a vertical leg 63 on the upper end ofwhich the ball'thrust block ll is secured.

The vertical hand lever 57 extends downwardly beyond the pivot pin 56and is provided with an inwardly projecting pin on which a roller 65 ismounted. The roller 65 bears against the face of an angle bracket 56welded to the base I (see Figs. 2 and 4) Details of operation of thismechanism follow. Assuming that the motor M is running and the verticalhand lever 57 is in the neutral position shown, the large V-belt pulleyi2 is rotating freely on its ball bearings M and M on the axis of thedrum shaft :3; When the vertical hand lever is moved forward or to theleft towards drum end (Fig. 2) it first turns on the pivot pin '58tending to move the higher pivot pin 58 forward and with it the slottedlink 59. The slotted end of this --l-inl; bears on the end of the bellcrank lever to tending to move it forward-or in a clockwise direction(Fig. 3). This causes the clutch operating member 83 to slide to theright (Fig. 4) against the resistance ofspr-ing 62, =thereby causing thethrust bearin block l? to move to the right through the agency of thevertical extension 63', with the final result that the dished disc i5moves to contact the adjacent face of "the V-belt pulley i2 through thefr'ictiondisc 1'5. This movement continues until the clutch members arein opera-ting engagement. At this :point the fulcrum of the verticalhand lever 51 is trans ferred from the lower pivot pin =56 to the higherpivot pin 58 so that the thrust applied by the vertical hand leverreacts on the slotted link 59 causing the fulcrum pin 56 to move in=acounterclockwise direction (Fig. 2). Since this pin 56 engages the lever55 the transverse shaft 49 is similarly rotated against the resistanceof the torsion spring 52. The lever Q8 also attached to the shaft :39 isrotated in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 2) releasing the brakeband 42.

.By reason of these movements Of the various parts the thrust of thetorsion spring 52 which was first solely acting to hold the brake bandtight on the drum of the load brake, is gradually transferred to theclutch, causing the large V-belt pulley to drive the planetary gearing.This results because power is transmitted through the friction clutch tothe plate [5, to shaft I3, and and from there to sun pinion 21 andplanet gears 25 which roll on the internal gear 23. It will be recalledthat the planet gears 25 are rotatably mounted on the flange 23 of therope drum, with the result that the rope drum is rotated in a hoistingdirection at the proper speed. There will be a brief intermediate stagewhen the force of the spring 52 is equally divided between the brake 22-22 and the clutch |2-l5, when some slipping will occur on both, whichprovides the operator with a graduated control of the hoisting speedsufficient to avoid sudden application of the power to the load.

When the hand lever 51 is released the torsion spring 52 will return theparts to normal position where lever 57 is in neutral position, the loadbrake is fully applied, and the clutch is released. Spring 62 will actto disengage the clutch !2-l5.

For purposes of lowering the load the vertical hand lever is movedrearwardly, that is to the right (Fig. 2) towards the motor end of themachine. At this time the roller 55 at its lower end bearing on theangle plate 56 will become the fulcrum of lever 57, with the result thatlever 55 is rotated in counterclockwise direction (Fig. 2) causing arotation of the transverse shaft 49 and the attached lever #53 in thesame direction. This releases the brake band s2 and therefore the ropedrum. Assuming that the load rope is sufficiently loaded it will causethe drum to rotate in a lowering direction. If not sufilciently loadedthe rope drum is freely rotatable on its ball bearing mountings 2| and2|, so that the rope can be easily lowered by hand at a speed greaterthan the hoisting speed. In the event that the rope drum is rotated in alowering direction at a speed exceeding the predetermined rate, thecentrifugal governor will interpose a resistance to further speedincrease. The centrifugal governor is so proportioned that under normalhois-ting'speeds the-centrifugal force generated is suflicient todefleet the springs ii sufficiently to cause the brake blocks 38 tocontact the braking surface 29 At a speedabout 50% greater than normalhoisting speed the "brake blocks 38 fly outwardly :to engage theinternal braking surface 2 of the stationary housing 25 with sufficientforce to prevent excessive lowering; speed. Rotation of the brake blocks38 during lowering is efiected since the planetary gear train is drivenby the brake drum, with result that the drum shaft E3 Whichis free (theclutch being released) is included in this gear train and lBVfir 3 onwhich the governor blocks 33 are mounted is keyed to theshaft L13.

From the above description it will be seen that a relatively simplifiedwinch structure is .provided to permit the use of :asimple, continuouslyrunning prime mover. The entire mechanism is controlled for all of itsfunctions by means of a single manually controlled lever and safety is.insured in hoisting because the brake is released only as the hoistingpower is applied, as-well as in lowering because the centrifugalgovernor pro vents excessive lowering speeds the brake is released.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the subject matterof this invention can be embodied in other physical .forms, and I donot, therefore, desire limitation by disclosure but ratherlby claims.

What is claimed ,is:

in a power driven winch, the combination comprising .a rotatable ropedrum, :a "prime mover, a planetary gear drive forsaid drum, a clutchcomprising a pair of cooperating members for connecting said prime moverwith said drive, a brake for said drum, means including a spring fornormally holding said brake in on position, means including a singlelever for engaging said clutch members and then releasing said brake,said lever first reacting on said spring to engage said clutch, andlater directly acting on said clutch to release said brake against theresistance of said spring, and a centrifugal brake driven by saidgearing in a lowering direction to limit speed of rotation of said drumin a lower ing direction.

2. In a winch of the type described the combination including arotatably supported cable drum, a brake for said drum, means including aspring for normally holding said brake in on position, a clutch, aplanetary gear train interconnecting said clutch with said drum, saidclutch including a member rotatable on the axis of said drum andsupported for axial sliding movement, and a single manual lever reactingon said spring to engage said clutch and then acting on said spring torelease said brake, to enect rotation of said cable drum in hoistingdirection, a rotatable shaft upon which said cable drum is rotatable,said clutch including a movable clutch member slidably mounted on saidshaft and means interconnected with said manual lever for causing anincrease in the force of engagement of said clutch as said brake isreleased.

3. In a winch of the type described the combination including arotatably supported cable drum, a brake for said drum, means including aspring for normally holding said brake in on position, a clutch, aplanetary gear train interconnecting said clutch with said drum, saidclutch including a member rotatable on the axis of said drum andsupported for axial sliding movement, and a single manual lever reactingon said spring to engage said clutch and then acting on said spring torelease said brake,- to efiect rotation of said cable drum in hoistingdirection, a rotatable shaft upon which said cable drum is rotatable,said clutch including a movable clutch member slidably mounted on saidshaft and means including a, linkage system connected to said manuallever for causing sliding movement of said clutch member to increase theforce of engagement of said clutch as said brake is released.

4. In a winch of the type described, the com bination comprising arotatably supported cable drum, a, brake for said drum including aspring for normally holding the brake in on position, a prime mover, aclutch having a pair of cooperating elements one of which is driven bysaid prime mover, a planetary gear train for driving said cable drumdriven by the other element of said clutch, a, single operating lever,means for pivotally connecting said lever with said spring, and meansfor pivotally connecting said lever with said second clutch element,

movement of said lever in one direction gradually transferring the forceof said spring from said brake and applying it to said clutch to engageit, said lever pivoting on the means for c0nnecting it to said spring,whereby the clutch is engaged before the brake is released, and meansfor causing said lever to pivot on its end upon movement in the oppositedirection to nullify the force of said spring on said brake, wherebysaid drum becomes freely rotatable.

5 In a Winch of the type described, the commovement of said lever in onedirection gradually transferring the force of said spring from saidbrake and applying it to said clutch to engage it, said lever pivotingon the means for connecting it to said spring, whereby the clutch isengaged before the brake is released, means for causing said levertopivot on its end upon movement in the opposite direction to nullifythe force of said spring on said brake, whereby said drum becomes freelyrotatable, and a centrifugal brake driven by said drum for limiting itsmaximum speed of free rotation.

GEORGE E. MOORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,402,756 Lawler June 25, 19462,412,412 Meili Dec. 10, 1946

